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tv   Full Court Press  Current  September 25, 2012 3:00am-6:00am PDT

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[ laughter ] [ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> bill: hey, good morning everybody. it is tuesday september 25. and off we go on the "full court press" here on current tv. good to have you with us this morning. wherever you happen to be in this great land of ours, thank you for joining us on the "full court press" as we tackle the big stories of the day here from our nation's capital from around the country and around the globe. take your calls at 1-866-55-press and really get into the issues like this one.
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president obama going up to new york for the united nations but yesterday he sat down with the women on the view but held zero one on one meetings with foreign dignitaries. was that a case of the right priorities for the president's schedule or was it a big mistake? we all tackle that and a whole lot more here on the full court press. first, let's start out with the current news update from lisa ferguson out in los angeles. hi lisa. good morning. >> hey bill, good morning everyone. mitt romney joins paul ryan on a bus tour through ohio as part of an effort to refocus his campaign message. ryan kicked off a three-day tour with an event in lima and they'll campaign together in central ohio. romney wraps it up tuesday with an event in cleveland. ohio is perhaps the most critical swing state with 18 electoral votes. romney losing ohio would mean he
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has no shot at the white house. that does follow suit with history. no republican candidate has ever become president without carrying ohio. recent polls show romney is down in the state by anywhere from 4 to 7 points against the president. so he's not doing great in ohio but he's faring well financially after a trip to los angeles over the weekend. romney brought in $6 million in just one night at a fund-raiser in beverly hills where about 1500 people paid up to $50,000 each to see the candidate speak. ann romney ran into a little trouble when her plane had to make an emergency landing this weekend. she is safe and sound but her husband was naturally a little bit nervous especially because he cannot figure out why airplane windows don't go down. romney told the "los angeles times" that's the biggest problems with a plane in trouble is you can't get anymore oxygen on the plane because the windows do not roll down. obviously one of the many reasons that airplane windows
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don't open is because at that altitude, there's not enough oxygen to get passengers any air. we're back with more bill after the break. stay with us. we have a big, big hour and the i.q. will go way up. how are you ever going to solve the problem if you don't look at all of the pieces? >>tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >>you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. >>sharp tongue, quick whit and above all, politically direct. >>you just think there is no low they won't go to. oh, no. if al gore's watching today...
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i don't think so. [ male announcer ] contract the rainbow! taste the rainbow!
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[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on current tv, this is the >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: hey are you keeping track? 42 days to go! mitt romney says it's close. let's find out. say hello everybody. great to see you today. good good, good tuesday morning. september 25. and here we go with the "full court press" on your local progressive talk radio station.
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on sirius x.m. this hour only and on current tv all three hours we're going to need three hours to get through all of the stories of the day. we'll tell you what's going on this september 25 and give you a chance to weigh in on the issues of the day. our morning town hall here called the "full court press." you join the conversation. you take your seat at the take by giving us a call at 1-866-55-press. president obama up in new york today at the united nations and also speaking at the clinton global initiative. then the president goes back on the road where else but to ohio. to begin this week. then he'll be bouncing around a couple of the other battleground states. and again, we'll bring you up to date on all of the latest political news. president getting some flak because he spent more time
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yesterday during tell -- doing television interviews than he did meeting with foreign leaders at the united nations. yeah. but who votes in this election? not the president of cooker stand nor his entourage. nice to have the whole team back here today. peter ogborn back from planet mars. >> hi, there. >> bill: together with dan henning and cyprian bowlding, videographer cyprian bowlding. >> nice to be back. >> bill: president obama flew up to new york yesterday after a couple of meetings at the white house. lunch with the vice president. he went to new york, the united nations had assembled but he didn't go to the united nations. he went to the studios of abc instead and taped an interview with the ladies of "the view" that will air today. it was taped yesterday. barbara walters kind of getting
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ahead of herself with this question. >> what are you going to do with the rest of your life? >> well, you know, first thing's first here. [ laughter ] we do have an election ahead. i have a lot of time to think about what i'm doing in the second term. putting folks back to work and making sure our schools are up to snuff. >> bill: what are you going to do with the rest of your life? guess what. i've got four more years in the white house. >> a little weird. >> bill: what's she going to do with the rest of her life? and then they got into -- well maybe, maybe i've raised this question before so i'm not being critical here. maybe michelle obama ought to think about running for president. >> she should run for office but she says she doesn't want to. [ applause ] >> obama: i -- look, michelle would be terrific but
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temperamentally, i just don't think that -- >> it is absolutely true. it takes a lot of patience to be the president of the united states. i'm not that patient. >> bill: i gotta tell you that was a risky move by obama. my wife doesn't have the right temperament to be president. >> when was the last time you called carol temperamental? >> bill: i wouldn't go there. that frying pan would be bouncing off my head. i was surprised. it's a good thing michelle took that the right way. >> yeah, that was thin ice to go out on. >> bill: that was. thin ice indeed. >> bill: joe cirincione is going to talk to us about what the president might accomplish up at the united nations and what the latest is on libya and syria. dave zeron our sports guru, we share him with the "nation" magazine will be here to talk about that incredible bad call
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last night in the seahawks and packers game and judd legum, of course, it's tuesdays with judd. judd legum from think progress. but first -- >> this is the "full court press." >> good morning on this tuesday. other headlines making news. the hatred for the replacement nfl officials hit a boiling point on monday night football last night. at the end of the game between the green bay packers and the seattle seahawks, the quarterback russell wilson threw a last-second desperation pass. we call that a hail mary into the end zone that was clearly caught by a packers defender to save the game as an interception. but the replacement referee for some reason awarded the catch to seahawks receiver golden pait that resulted in a seahawks 14-12 win. twitter reaction next nationwide called the harshest in years toward the any nfl official. >> bill: it was a lousy call.
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there was no way the seahawks guy got that ball. you can see it in the hands of the greenway receiver. >> i don't have a dog in this fight. that was -- the packers got robbed last night. >> bill: my dog are the union reps who are being screwed by the owners but by the way so are all football fans in this country. it just proves you can't have scabs. scabs can't do the job that union members can. think about the packers sal doority -- solidarity with my packers brothers and sisters. >> what if they miss the playoff by one game, a game they should have won? >> bill: idiots. they should have tackled the refs and beat them up. >> president obama -- >> not that we're advocating violence. in football of all things. >> bill: i am. >> does president obama have a food taster? the secret service has never confirmed someone tries all of the president's food citing
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security concerns however thanks to oversharing on twitter we now may know the president does, in fact have a pretaster. the obama food rama log -- they report that celebrity chef tyler florence's wife recently tasted about -- tweeted about tasting the president's food before it was served with the hash tag no poison. the tweet was soon after deleted. >> bill: i can see when they go out he might have a taster but inside the white house for everything he eats, do you think he has a taster? >> i think if they have other chefs preparing food in the white house -- >> bill: right. the regular white house chef, i would like a burger. a taster if it's a regular chef? i don't know. i'll look into that. >> that and the beer, too. >> bill: i know. i was on the beer case yesterday. i was talking to the guys. >> you got a case of beer?
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>> bill: no. i was trying to get a bottle of beer. i played with bo for about five years. >> thinking that was going to kick it in? he's not going to help you. >> bill: fetch! >> a big change on sesame street as the show debuts its 34rd -- 43rd season on pbs. elmo's world is gone, now being called elmo the musical the familiar red character will incorporate much more music into his skits as he introduced more concepts around science technology engineering and math. the new elmo skits will be slightly longer going about 11 minutes and geared toward older preschool age children whereas before, they were just targeting kids up to 2 years old. they're talking about engineering and math. >> bill: i don't know, man. if it ain't broke, don't fix it. you know what? you start messing with elmo, my grandchildren are going to be really pissed. yeah, they are.
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leave elmo the way elmo is. >> save elmo. >> bill: let elmo be elmo. all right. hey, what do you say? want to start out today talking about where we are in this presidential election and i'm getting worried. i'm really, really getting worried. here's what i'm worried about. and you tell me if you're worried about the same thing. i'm not so much worried that president obama is going to win. i'm worried that democrats are going to start taking this thing for granted. i've seen democrats blow two -- i've been around. i ran for office myself. i was democratic state chair of the big state of california for three years. i've seen democrats blow too many races and i'm afraid democrats could get a little cocky about this one. so i want to -- back up. some of you may have heard me tell the story yesterday. peter, weren't you here. but i ran -- friday, i was down
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at the house of representatives, leader pelosi, democratic leader pelosi, called a group of reporters together. there were about 12 of us to her private office around the conference table, to talk about the issues of the day and what she thought they ought to be focusing on and what they're not doing because they went home. it was a good session with reporters about an hour long but walking in, i ran into a leader of the house -- a republican leader of the house. i'm not going to mention his name. i've known him. he used to be a frequent guest on crossfire. everybody knows his name. he's one of the top leaders republicans in the house of representatives. so he was walking out in public, i said hello. we chatted for awhile. i had to go inside for this meeting with pelosi. he said at any rate,
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congratulations. i was stuffed. i said what are you -- i was stumped. i said what are you talking about? new show? he said congratulations on winning in november. i said come on, this election is six weeks away. >> he said don't b. s. me, we all know -- "we all know obama's going to win in november." wow. so i assured him that conversation would be off the record. now i just told you all about it but i didn't tell you his name because it would make news. big news if i revealed his name. and so there is this feeling -- and you understand where it could be coming from. yesterday the latest battleground poll shows nationwide president obama up over mitt romney by 50% to 47%. but more importantly if you look at the battleground states, the latest battleground poll shows
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president obama up over romney in virginia by 8 points, up in ohio by 5 points, up in florida by 5 points, up in iowa by 5 points. up in nevada by 5 points. i was looking at some others this morning here, enough, just up by 1 point. colorado up by 2.3 points. so it's looking pretty good. here's another indication in the latest battleground poll. this was conducted by politico and paid for by politico, sponsored i guess by politico and george washington university. shows that 60% of americans today say they think president obama's going to win re-election. 60% think -- whether they want him to or not think he's going to. 30% only think mitt romney is going to win. 10% are undecided. so everybody sort of feeling like this election now is going in one direction. everybody that is except two
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people. paul ryan and mitt romney who told an interviewer yesterday hey, polls don't mean anything. >> polls go up and down and there's some polls that are out there where the race is even. i just don't pay a lot of attention to polls. >> bill: that's what you always say when you're down in the polls. i've said it myself. the polls go up and down when your man is down, you say -- that's what you say. mitt romney also says don't worry, the election is razor thin. >> polls go all over the place. i do know this is a very tight race. as a result of that, states are taking a close look person by person is deciding who is it that's going to help them keep from having to live paycheck to paycheck. >> bill: so you see except for mitt romney, polls are going in one direction. here's my fear, right. my fear is that democrats will see that and they're going to get cocky and they're going to relax and not give money and they're not going to make phone calls and they're not going to
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work and they may not get out and vote. they'll think it's in the bag and damn it, it's not in the bag. that's exactly the wrong message. let's face it. these are close. romney's right about it. it is too damn close. 5 points is not enough of a spread. give me 10 or 15 points then i would get cocky. it is too close. anything can happen. you don't know what will blow up in the middle east. you don't know what's going to happen in the presidential debates. it could all change around. there's enough time left for this thing to switch and go in the opposite direction and for romney to take the lead. number one. number two it's not just winning the white house that's important. it's winning as big as we can for the white house in order to pick up some of the senate seats that we need and hold on to the senate and get control of the house of representatives back in democratic hands if you want president obama to do anything in the next -- get anything done
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in the next four years. speaker pelosi told us that this -- at this meeting on friday that if president obama wins by 10 points, democrats take back the house. flat out. that lift all votes. so this is not the time to get cocky. please tell me that people are not going to get the wrong message here and say it's all over. it's in the bag. it is not in the bag. worries the hell out of me. how about you? 1-866-55-press. good news can turn into bad news if we take the pedal from the metal here. keep going. keep pushing more than ever. roll it up! 1-866-55-press. let's talk about it. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current tv. unleashed. joy behar. >> on tonight's show, suzanne somers is going to bench press me and sue simmons. just watching the episode, you'll
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>> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> bill: all right. here we go. 26 minutes after the hour now. yeah, with the polls -- every poll just about showing president obama ahead at the national level and in state by state in the battleground state are democrats maybe -- do they risk getting the wrong message here and saying we got this one won. let's relax for the next 40 days. i hope not. bruce is out in columbus, ohio. hey, bruce both mitt romney and president obama heading for ohio again this week. >> that's right. we're seeing a lot of action here. so i just wanted to call and thank you for reminding democrats to not get too cocky.
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you're right. it could get really close and don't want anybody giving up the fight. and also, thank you for reminding people to vote democratic on the congressional races. >> bill: you know, you got sherrod brown there in ohio. very important to get sherrod brown back. he's one of our best united states senators, i believe. 5 points is not a big spread, right? in politics. >> no, it's not. people in ohio, they tend to -- you never know which way the wind's going to blow. but it is looking -- so far it's looking good. democrats can't give up the fight. >> bill: i keep coming back to what nancy pelosi told us friday, 10 points, if obama wins by 10 points, he get back the house. rack it up. roll it up, roll it up. i'm not a sports fan but i know in tennessee sometimes people say you've already won the game. just relax and let the other team score a little bit.
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uh-huh! no. the other philosophy is bury them! that's what i want to do. bury mitt romney. joey is out in chicago. how you doing? >> caller: good. i've been on a sabbatical, bill. >> bill: we missed you. >> caller: thank you. let's not get too concerned about you. i understand your worries but i think we have the older white people on our side on this one just because of social security and medicaid. so i wouldn't get too concerned about this. i understand. >> bill: joey, i've seen democrats blow too many elections. huh? >> caller: i understand. we gotta have faith. we can't talk like this. winners do not talk like this. >> bill: we have to have faith, joey, yes. and we have to have optimism. we also have to work our asses off. that's my point. you know, to me, when i see 5 points ahead that doesn't say relax. that says double down, work
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harder than ever, volunteer if you haven't done it, get out there and work your ass off. >> bill: this is the "bill press show." debt and after they ran it up high enough, they would say oh my god, look at this national debt. we can't do this. i.q. will go way up. how are you ever going to solve the problem if you don't look at all of the pieces? >>tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >>you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. >>sharp tongue, quick whit and above all, politically direct. >>you just think there is no low they won't go to.
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>> announcer: this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: 33 minutes after the hour now. here we go the "full court press" on tuesday september 25. so good to see you today. don't forget to check out our web site at billpressshow.com for a couple of good reasons. number one register to vote if you're not already registered to vote. it is meaningless unless you get out to vote this election. i don't care -- i do care -- i hope you will vote as a
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democrat. i hope you will vote for president obama and for your democratic member of congress and the senate. but it's important even if you're going to vote republican, i want you to register to vote. if you haven't already done so, go to our web site, click on the box rock the vote. it will take you right to your state. you can register right there online. do it today. if you don't already have a copy, you want to know about all of the super pacs, the koch brothers, all of the money they've poured into president obama into the most vile, disgusting, attack ads here's what it's all about, "the obama hate machine." my paperback copy of my new book available if you want a signed copy, get this at your bookstore. if you want a signed copy, go to our web site, let us know how you want it signed, we'll get it out to you right away. book, postage, mailing everything for $16.99. back to your calls about these polls and our democrats --
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should we be worried about democrats coasting -- starting to coast because the polls look so good with 40 days to go. your calls at 1-866-55-press. but first, just one quick word. about life lock ultimate. you know, i hope this hasn't happened to you. it happened to me. an uh-oh moment when i learned that my debit card had been declined. it got even worse when the bank told me they canceled it because my personal information had been compromised. then frustration turned to panic when i realized that meant that everything that i -- all of my information including my bank accounts could be in the hands of some identity thief. now, the bank will gladly mail you a new card if that happens. what you really need is what i did. get some identity theft protection and the best out there is life lock ultimate. the only identity theft protection service that monitors bank accounts for takeover fraud. call now and mention press 60
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for 60 historicken are free days of life lock protection. call them again within 60 days to cancel and they'll give. >> free refund. call 1-800-356-5967 for life lock ultimate. scope may vary. back to your calls. come on. now is not the time to relax folks. larry is in new briton, connecticut. >> caller: good morning, bill. i'm not too concerned with obama because he's very popular and obviously flipper's not. he's been a -- even the republicans are running away from him. here in connecticut, i never see a romney butcher sticker. romney bumper sticker. i see obama all over the place. but getting to -- the
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election -- >> bill: but you've got that important senate race up there larry, right. >> caller: exactly. we cannot afford another tea bagger in the senate. we've had enough obstruction for four years. everybody has to get out there and vote for your congress and for your senator and let's win this thing all around. >> bill: we need a sweep. absolutely. a total sweep larry. couldn't agree more. that's a very important message. look at a state up there. chris murphy, good democrat and linda mcmahon the wrestling champ or wrestling businesswoman, whatever. she tried before. didn't make it. she's back. and there's one seat democrats need to pick up and get a real democrat in there unlike a joe lieberman. certainly unlike a linda mcmahon. >> bill: kathy is down in houston, texas. good morning. >> good morning, bill. >> i have this to say. we do not need to take -- we
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need to do a touchdown and then we need to get an on-side kick or a fumble. we need to take this thing all the way! we cannot ever let up. >> bill: no, you know, it's like if you're ahead by 15 points at halftime, you don't send your third string team out there and take it for granted right? >> no, you do not. you keep going! >> bill: i'm worried about that. not on the part of the president. i know he's not going to flag at all. he's going to keep campaigning full speed. but it's just -- democrats out there in the trenches might say hey, why should we work so hard? we're ahead everywhere we look but it could change. >> my own kids have said that to me. i told them it doesn't matter. we're all voting together. so as you know, i said, we go for all we can. >> bill: go for broke. you got it, kathy. remember again, i repeated it
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several times. i keep calling her speaker pelosi. can't wait to call her that again. leader pelosi told us reporters on friday, 10 points, president wins by 10 -- democrats take back the house and how important would that be to have somebody the president can work with rather than obstructionist john boehner and not to mention eric cantor. ellis calling from fay yetville -- fayetteville, california? >> caller: no, that's fairfield california. >> bill: i was going to say i never heard of a fayetteville, california. but i know fairfield california. >> caller: just south of sacramento. >> bill: i know exactly where you are. >> caller: i'm concerned like you are about this thing. i think democrats can get lured into watching too many polls you know. guys that live by the polls and we need -- what happened to
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green bay last night. too many opportunities for three-pointers and hail marys i fear. >> bill: absolutely. those polls -- romney was right about that. they can be up one day and down the other. >> absolutely. with everything going on in the middle east right now who knows. we may have something like that. so we need to keep our foot on the accelerator and don't let up. >> bill: couldn't agree more. good to hear from you ellis. i used to spend some time in fairfield. my first job in politics working for peter behr, supervisor for marin county who was running for the state senate in his district included napa county, marin county, napa county and solano county, fairfield is a big part of. tim is calling from round lake, illinois. >> caller: good morning, bill. >> bill: what do you think? >> caller: one of the things i think and just opinion that
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during this debate, obama debates more he's governed as a moderate, i think republicans will go in that mode. but in the debates if he comes out the fighter the campaign obama personality i think they'll follow that and go -- and keep fighting right up until the election. >> bill: i think that's a good point, tim. i really want to see an aggressive, feisty obama in the debates, you know. basically say come on, romney. we've heard enough of your b. s. right? and what you're saying is just lies about welfare. lies about taxes. lies about everything. and call him out. >> caller: in a poll last night they showed on tv, 83% of americans are going to watch the debates. >> bill: whoa. >> caller: that's a huge number to watch the debates. >> bill: i find that hard to believe. but still -- >> caller: registered voters.
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>> bill: if it was on ed's show, i believe it. i tell you what, the first debate particularly, tim, will be very -- there will be a huge audience for the first debate and obama's gotta be really out there. really slugging and he can't take any crap from mitt romney and can't let him get away with the weasley statements and romney -- can't get romney get away with just being like foggy right and not saying what he really intends to do or what he really plans to do. he's got to force -- you know what? i would like to see him debate like rick santorum did in the primary. rick santorum just drove romney crazy in the primary. andre in columbus, ohio. real quick. hi andre. >> caller: hi, bill, thanks for taking my call. >> bill: sure. >> caller: i think it also depends on the commentators, what kind of questions they're going to ask him. my point with what you said, i can't agree with you more. i'm more concerned with the
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republicans stealing the election with all of the voter suppression laws in limbo and all. it really, really concerns me. i think the democrats should just -- don't take anything for granted and stay up on it. >> bill: excellent point andre. excellent point to close this discussion on that point. that's another thing. with all of the tricks they're playing with voter suppression all the more reason we have to rack up the biggest possible popular vote for president obama, for the house and for the senate so that they can't steal this election. talking about stealing, how about stealing that ball game last night with the help of those scab refs? we'll talk to dave zeron about it coming up next. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." clean it up with orbit! [ ding! ] fabulous! for a good clean feeling... eat. drink. chew orbit.
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let's hear yours. politically direct means no b.s. just telling you what's going on in politics today. >>at the only on-line forum with a direct line to bill press. >>it's something i've been waiting for a long time. >>join the debate now. sir... excuse me, excuse me... can i get you to sign off on the johnson case... ♪ we built this city! ♪ don't let food hang around. ♪ on rock & roll! ♪ [ orbit trumpet plays ] clean it up with orbit! [ ding! ] fabulous! for a good clean feeling... eat. drink. chew orbit.
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now to my point. (vo) jennifer granholm ... >>for every discouraged voter, there are ten angry ones taking action. trickle down does not work. in romney's world, cars get the elevator and the workers get the shaft. the powerful may steal an election, but they can't steal democracy.
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>> announcer: on your radio, on tv the "bill press show." new on current tv. >> bill: 13 minutes to go before the top of the hour. man, i gotta tell you. it's tough for sports fans these days because we still got the winding down of the baseball season and the winding up of the nfl season and you know, nats won yesterday. they got five games win five more or braves lose five and they are locked into the playoffs in a top spot. but the big sports news, of course is that unbelievable final call in the packers/seahawks game last night. here's what it sounded like when they looked at the tape again
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and the volunteer or the rent a refs or the scab refs made the call looking at the tape. >> call on the field's fair. touchdown. [ cheering ] >> seahawks win in the most bizarre finish you'll ever see! >> bill: bizarre? bizarre? it was -- they stole that game. dave zeron is a sports editor for the "nation" magazine. we share him with the nation. he's not just a sports editor. he's a theologian of professional sports. dave, how are you doing? >> i'm still stunned from last night, honestly, bill. it was -- i mean there are words that cannot be said even if this was a completely uncensored radio show to describe how awful that last call was. >> bill: i've seen the tape twice this morning. there is no doubt the packers intercepted -- whoever the guy was. intercepted that pass, right? >> mm-hmm.
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there was offensive pass interference on the play as well. and you have the awful spectacle of two referees standing right over the play. this is going to become a famous photo by the way. an iconic photo both standing right over the play and one calls it a touchback. the other calls it a touchdown. and it's the sort of thing that -- i mean it's a living, breathing argument for unions. >> bill: yes it is! >> that's what it is. the irony that the people who were messed up with the green bay packers and the favorite team of paul ryan and scott walker, i don't think that can be overlooked. these are folks who have made their living out of deriding the importance of the skilled union labor in the american life and here they are. i would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when they saw that scene. i would have loved to know if scott turned to paul and said you know what? maybe we were wrong about this
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whole driving american workers down to global south income levels. maybe we should actually support the role of labor in the united states. paul ryan would look at him and say just pick up your fountain head and shut up. >> bill: don't hold your breath right? dey, what is the issue between -- dave, what is the issue between the owners and the refs? is it just money? >> no. see, that's the thing that people have to understand. this is not economic. this is ideological. the cost to end the lockout by the owners would cost, per team, per week about $62,000. i mean that's how much it feels like sometimes we pay for parking when we go to an nfl game. >> bill: right. >> it's completely ideological. what it's about is that the nfl owners want to move referees from -- the only thing that separates them salarywise is really about a couple of thousand dollars.
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but they want to move them from a pension to a 401(k). because over the last year, the nfl owners have moved most of their employees from having stable pensions to moving their retirement packages since the stock market. they want to do the same thing for the referees, as well. more than anything else, i mean this is happening for the same reason we have lockouts in the nhl right now. we had lockouts last year at the nba and the nfl. this is ideological. they have hired the same law firm for all of these negotiations and the law firm has a strategy. that says we are not going to negotiate in good faith. we're going to violate u.s. labor law and push toward the lockout from the very beginning. it is the worst access of corporate america at large on american sports. >> bill: then comes to the surface like it did last night with that call, right and as
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you point out unbelievable scene of two refs, side by side giving the exact opposite call. i mean doesn't it reach a point where the public is just going to demand that the owners, you know, do the right thing here? >> i hope that's right bill. my fear though is that even if you had a million two million ten million nfl fans turn away from the product it wouldn't make even a microdent into what's going on here because so much of the profits for nfl owners is paid up-front whether it's through stadium subsidies or billion dollar television deals with multiple major networks. so it doesn't make a dent that we would hope. what would make a dent, we do organize ten million fans and not make a dent but it is -- if even two players from each team, the offensive and defensive captains, held a press conference together and said we're not going to take the
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field again as long as this is going on, then this would end faster than rg3 could run a 40 yard catch. >> bill: that would be incredible. >> what's the likelihood of that happening though? these guys have been so scared for so long to speak out against the refs. >> not impossible. it is improbable but not impossible and i'll tell you why. if you had seen some of the tweets -- once again i can't even -- i'm not even on the same wavelength of being able to say these over the air but if you had seen some of the tweets that came out last night from nfl players, the profane tweets after the results of that game. it would let you know how angry they are. the nfl ta, they released a letter this week calling upon -- there was a scathing letter saying that the owners needed to get their act together and that this was endangering the health and safety of the players and it
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was signed by players like drew brees so they are moving from complete inaction on this to really saying something about what's happening with this. then the next step would be moving from words to deeds. >> bill: dave, thanks for joining us my friend. you can follow dave zirin. follow him at thenation.com or edgeofsports.com. >> follow him on twitter at edge of sports. you gotta follow him on twitter. >> bill: twitter at edgeofsports. got it. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."
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are they contagious? i don't think so. [ male announcer ] contract the rainbow! taste the rainbow!
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(vo) always outspoken, now unleashed. joy behar. >> on tonight's show, suzanne somers is going to bench press me and sue simmons. just watching the episode, you'll lose ten pounds.
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>> announcer: taking your e-mails on any topic at any show." >> announcer: take your e-mails on any topic at any time. this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: okay. david jackson, "usa today" joins us from the white house top of the next hour. and we'll also be joined by, of course, judd legum from think progress. ralph burns wants us to know i remember when ronald reagan was governor of california. his mantra was that people should pay taxes until it hurts. and then an enterprising undergraduate student from u.c. berkeley did some research and discovered that he paid no taxes at all! one year. yes and don't you think that's exactly the case with mitt romney? of course, we'll never know until he releases his tax returns.
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and he still hasn't released them all of course. the "full court press." stay with us. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."
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[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> bill: hey, good morning everybody! and welcome to the "full court press" this tuesday september 25. good to see you today. on current tv. and welcome to our morning town hall where we tackle the big issues of the day and talk about them. give us a call at 1-866-55-press. and here's one thing i ask you to do please if you haven't yet seen it. watch the rerun and the replay
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of that final touchdown pass in last night's game between the seahawks and the packers. the scab refs clearly made the wrong call. the seahawks should never have won that game. it is time to bring back the good experienced union refs! but the nfl -- put the nfl back on track. we'll get into that and a whole lot more here on the "full court press." first, here we go to los angeles. say good morning to lisa ferguson with today's current news update. hi lisa, good morning. >> hey bill, good morning everyone. we're expecting president obama to answer some foreign policy criticism this morning when he addresses the united nations general assembly. mitt romney is attacking the president claiming he's downplaying the protests in the middle east. here's what he had to say yesterday during a campaign event in colorado. >> he said the developments in the middle east are bumps in the road. [ laughter ] yeah, that was my reaction.
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butches in the road? we had an ambassador assassinated. >> romney really taking any chance he can to politicize these attacks. the white house's jay carney responded to romney's remark yesterday calling it a desperate attempt to find the political advantage and in this case, it is profoundly offensive. today at the u.n. assembly, president obama plans on addressing a wide range of foreign policy issues denouncing both the violence in the middle east and the anti-islam film that sparked some of the protests. he'll also give a renewed warning to iran to put a stop to its nuclear program. some people, especially republicans, are saying mr. obama should have spent yesterday meeting with world leaders rather than taping an episode of abc's "the view." former white house press secretary robert gibbs is coming to the president's defense saying the appearance will not detract from mr. obama's work at the united nations. during that interview on "the view," mr. obama said there are a lot of things we can survive
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as americans but we would not likely be able to thrive during a romney presidency. more bill press coming up after the break. we would love to see you in chat current.com/billpress. >>brought to you by geico. 15 minutes could save 15% or more on car insurance. visit geico.com for a free rate quote.
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current tv, it's been all building up to this. >>bill shares his views, now it's your turn. >>i know you're going to want to weigh in on these issues. >>connect with "full court press with bill press" at facebook.com/billpressshow and on twitter at bpshow. >>i believe people are hungry for it. >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: 42 days to go! big debate coming up next week. we're in the homestretch here of this presidential campaign. finally. hello, everybody. great to see you today. it is tuesday. in case you haven't caught up with it. tuesday, september 25. great to see you. good to you have all together
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here as we tackle the issues of the day here from our nation's capital, from around the country and around the globe and invite you to comment. we love to hear what you think about these issues, what it means to you and your family. give us a call at 1-866-55-press. happy tuesday. wherever you happen to be in this great land of ours. whether you're listening on your progressive local progressive talk radio station or watching on current tv. good to have you a part of the "full court press" with the entire team press this morning. everybody's here today. peter ogborn, dan henning and cyprian bowlding. hello one and all. >> hey there. >> good morning. >> bill: interesting story in this morning's "new york times." a woman by the name of julianna coup in 1995, her family decided they should throw a special birthday party for her. she was turning 90. and they all got together and
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weren't sure how much longer she was going to be around. they had a nice big party for her at the pierre hotel in new york. last sunday, they had another birthday party for julianna coup who turned 107. >> wow! >> bill: 107. she's pictured here in the "new york times" surrounded by her family. children grandchildren and great grandchildren. 140 of them. >> get out! >> bill: 140 total. and she gave -- so 107. they always ask you what's the secret for long life. okay. her secret is, i love it. no exercise. eat as much butter as you like. and never look backwards. my kind of woman! >> that's my kind of woman. i'm in love. >> bill: i love it. no exercise, eat as much butter as you want and never look back. >> bacon and cigarettes.
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>> bill: i think she deserves a little john boehner. for julianna coup. ♪ this is your birthday song ♪ ♪ it doesn't last too long ♪ ♪ hey ♪ >> bill: and many more. >> who knows another 10 years right back there. >> bill: they could be. coming up, david jackson from the white house covers the white house for "usa today." judd legum of course, it's tuesday. think progress. lots of good stuff to tell us about. judd will be more in about half an hour. joe cirincione at the top of the next hour with the president at the united nations. what might we hear from him in his speech to the general assembly this morning. joe's here to preview it. but first -- >> this is the "full court press." >> other headlines making news on this tuesday. president obama brought some of the white house beer with him to "the view" yesterday. >> look at him!
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>> oh, yeah. he was up there in new york taping the episode which airs today. he gave it to barbara walters because it is her birthday. >> how many? >> 107. >> bill: she's 115. >> also gave her a -- i don't know how much beer he gave her. >> look at how mad bill is. i love it. >> also gave her a box of white house m&ms, marine i playing cards and a white house golf ball. >> bill: come on. i go to the white house every freakin' day and i haven't had one of those beers yet. >> wait until it's your birthday apparently. >> bill: i guess so. >> an olympic gold medal beach volleyball was carrying around something else. kerri walsh jennings said she realized she was pregnant while on her quest for gold alongside misty may traynor.
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she was 11 weeks pregnant. off to a healthy pregnancy. >> bill: certainly didn't slow her down in the olympics. >> by the way, she's out there in the sand in the bikini. i took pictures of their action play, i took a really close look and you can definitely not see anything close to a baby bump. she locks rock sol -- she looks rock solid to me. >> it was early on. bristol palin was back on "dancing with the stars" last night. the abc program featuring -- >> bill: glad i missed that. >> an all-star cast this season bringing back dancers from previous years and sara and todd palin were in the audience to cheer her on. she didn't receive high marks for her cha-cha cha but she will likely move on. >> bill: likely move on. she should have moved on a long time ago. >> bill: busy days at the white house. half of those days have been spent on the campaign trail
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which is not unusual. the president in fact, today will be not campaigning but dedicating today to global business first at the united nations and then at the clinton global initiative. previewed yesterday in our white house briefing with white house press secretary jay carney. joining me at the briefings, in fact, i take my lead from him representing "usa today" at the white house good friend david jackson. hello, david, good morning. >> hey bill, how are you? >> bill: i'm not sure you were on the line when dan informed us that -- this businesses me off and probably you too that yesterday, president obama appeared on "the view" and it was barbara walters birthday and he gave her a bottle of the white house beer. >> oh, no. >> bill: have you had your first bottle of the white house beer yet? >> no, but i'm pushing for them to serve it at the white house christmas party this year. >> bill: do they make enough for that? >> they make it for special
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events. they've had it at other receptions. maybe not one as big as the christmas parties but i think they can do it. if they put their mind to it they can do it. >> bill: just for our christmas party, they should do it. >> there you go. >> bill: you're one of the deans there. you're former head of the white house exoarpts association. you would think that you would be in line ahead of barbara walters to get a bottle. >> i'm upset about it. i knew for years they had the year but i didn't know it was such a production until recently. i'm a little bit upset bill. a little bit hurt. >> bill: i was talking to one of the officials at the white house yesterday about the beer. i've been trying to get my hands on it. >> it's a gonna happen. just a question of when and how. >> bill: the president's at the united nations today. the dominant theme yesterday of our briefing, david was of course, why isn't he holding any bilapse, mark knoller our historian. he gets mad when i call him that. he pointed out that the
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president held 13 last year and none this year. why do you think? >> they won't say this but i think it is simply because of the campaign schedule. this whole trip has been truncated. last year, he spent about -- at least two and a half days in new york. this year, it is basically a day. he left early yesterday afternoon, due to return this afternoon. we're talking a little more than 24 hours. there isn't enough time. part of it it is not enough time to do bilats and to address the u.n. and to do the cgi thing. if you do one bilat, you have to do others. you couldn't meet with -- if you met with netanyahu, he would have to meet with the president of egypt. you got that balancing act so you can't just do one. sometimes you can't do but two or three. they tend to add up. so i think it was just a scheduling factor in relation to the campaign. >> bill: don't you think the honest answer, i kept waiting for jay carney to give the honest answers, how many votes
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are there? egypt? >> think about the twitter verse would go crazy if he made that kind of response. he's sliding foreign affairs at the expense of the campaign. everything he has to say has jumped on. >> bill: it is about putting the campaign at a higher priority than foreign relations. >> he is talking to cgi. they would dispute the fact they're putting the campaign as a higher priority. in terms of the president's schedule of trying to accommodate a lot of different events. this year's u.n. is basically spending a day at the equivalent of a day there whereas last year he spent two and a half and sometimes he has to spend three days up there. >> bill: the conservatives particularly, drudge are making a big deal of the fact that when he went to new york, he went directly to -- not to the u.n., to abc studios and taped a session of "the view" which will be shown this afternoon.
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the right priority you think? >> that's a good question. that's the thing i think where he may be most vulnerable on. the u.n., "the view." that probably raises a few eyebrows. romney himself will probably do "the view" next month. he's in new york doing fund-raisers. i don't understand why he didn't do "the view" then. he did "letterman." i don't understand why they didn't do "the view" last week. >> bill: he had the reception last night at the waldorf astoria. met a lot of dignitaries there. i sort of felt last night -- or yesterday that jay was indicating that between the lines, there might be an occasional bilat almost like a spontaneous thing. they might schedule something. they haven't so far. they had the reception last night and speaking to the general assembly today. any idea what to expect? >> most is about the middle east.
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what we're looking at is the middle east. try to address the recent undress in the middle east. condemn the anti-islam video one of the reasons for some of the protests over there. he's going to talk about his view of the protests and he's also going to pay tribute to the slain ambassador in libya christopher stevens. i think that will be the dominant part of the speech today. >> bill: after ahmadinejad's speech yesterday can we expect the president to respond to some of that crazy stuff? >> he's also going to talk about iran and israel. one of the reasons when people complain he doesn't have any bilats, why aren't you meeting with netanyahu his response have you talked to him? he's not getting to new york until wednesday because of the holiday. >> bill: that's right. because of comkip you are. -- because of yom kippur. he's not even there. >> he will address israel in his speech. i don't know if he had address ahmadinejad or not. i don't know. he might try to ignore him. >> bill: how about then -- we're talking with david
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jackson. david jackson covering the white house for "usa today." he's got the oval blog at usatoday.com and you can follow him on twitter at dj"usa today." then the president goes over to the clinton global initiative which kind of takes extra significance this year, doesn't it? given the fact that of course hillary's secretary of state but also bill clinton giving such a rousing pro-obama speech at the democratic national convention. they become really kind of buddies here. >> it is a bromance, michelle described interestingly enough. obama is getting a lot of credit for what appears to be obama's surge in the polls. even the romney people will tell you the obama's at least two or three points ahead right now. they've -- they credit clinton with a lot of that. no doubt there is a close relationship. we also have the factor that hillary clinton may run again for president in four years hanging over this. >> bill: president obama -- i
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mean president clinton saying he's no idea whether she's going to run again. you know what? you remind me. peter, if we can president was asked last night -- yesterday on "the view," barbara walters suggested the possibility -- we've all talked about hillary running in 2016. barbara walters raised the possibility of another first lady running and the president's response was kind of -- was very interesting. here's how that exchange went. >> he should run -- she should run for office but she says she doesn't want to. [ applause ] >> obama: michelle would be terrific but temperamentally i just don't think that -- >> no, it's absolutely true. it takes a lot of patience to be the president of the united states and i'm not that patient. >> bill: i don't know about you, david but i wouldn't publicly say that my wife didn't have the temperament. >> heard about that backstage.
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i gotta tell you, it was is your -- it would surprise me if michelle obama wanted to run for public office. it would surprise me. but i don't think i would tell anyone my spouse was impatient on national television. >> she's got a bad temper. >> bill: i know, right? finally, david if the president comes back -- the president comes back today and then tomorrow, guess what, ohio. >> yes. guess who else is in ohio tomorrow. >> bill: yes, mitt romney. i think he's there today actually. >> yeah. >> bill: as we've seen with our schedule with the briefings the president's on the road two or three days a week now to those key battleground states. that will just intensify right? >> that's a good question, bill. it may intensify. it may not. he's only campaigning two days and he heads to debate camp to have debates between october 3 and 22nd. they feel like they're ahead right now. i wonder if we will see as much
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obama campaigning as we otherwise would have if he felt like his re-election were really threatened. i'm not so sure you won't see president obama acting as president more in the next month or so. kind of a rose garden strategy. >> bill: he's certainly got to put the attention particularly to the first debate. david, good to wrap it up with you. good to cover the stuff yesterday, too, at the briefing. thanks so much for your time this morning david. talk to you again soon, david jackson. he does a great job at the white house for "usa today." usatoday.com. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >>oh really? >>"if you ever raise taxes on >>the rich, you're going to destroy our economy." not true!
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we have a big, big hour and the i.q. will go way up. how are you ever going to solve the problem if you don't look at all of the pieces? >>tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >>you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. >>sharp tongue, quick whit and above all, politically direct. >>you just think there is no low they won't go to. if al gore's watching today... [ ♪ theme ♪ ]
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>> announcer: this is the "bill >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: 25 minutes after the hour here the "full court press." you know, we're all busy. we know that no way you can -- very few people are able to listen or watch all three hours of the "full court press" every morning. you miss some of the good interviews, some of the good discussion but you'll never miss anything if you have your own podcast subscription. go to our web site at billpressshow.com. follow the clicks. sign up for your own podcast and then the show is automatically downloaded all three hours commercial-free, downloaded to your phone, your computer, your laptop. wherever -- your ipad, wherever you want it. you can take the show on the go. listen to it any time. yesterday -- talking to dade jackson about the briefing yesterday. i raised the issue with jay carney, getting off the u.n. on what about those mitt romney
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releasing his tax returns. did that satisfy the president? jay carney said that's an issue for -- something for the campaign to answer. wait a minute, you've talked about this before. here's a follow-up and jay's attempt to duck the answer. >> in terms of the president believes, as a candidate that governor romney has an obligation to the american people to be forthcoming. >> i would say the president believes the tradition of candidates releasing their entire returns many years of them is a useful and valuable one for the american people. certainly one he's abided by. i have noted it began i guess just coincidentally with governor romney of michigan back in 1968. it is a process the president thinks is important even if it uncomfortable. you should be an open book. that's his view. >> bill: so in other words romney didn't do enough right? >> so therefore he did not do --
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>> i think the campaign has spoken to this. but the president's view hasn't changed which it is -- which is that it is an important part of the process of running for president. to demonstrate by the release of your complete returns for many years. an openness to the american people about who you are and your financial past. >> bill: so in other words jay carney is not saying directly but certainly indirectly what is true. that mitt romney's dump on friday of one year of tax returns and this phony letter from his accounting firm saying he had paid at least 13% for the last ten years doesn't satisfy -- doesn't meet his obligations. doesn't tell us the american people what we need to know and deserve to know. doesn't tell us -- raises even more questions about a swiss bank account and his money in the cayman islands his money in bermuda. in other words, i still think mitt romney is part of the 47%.
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there were years in which he paid no taxes at all. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >>i jump out of my skin at people when i'm upset. do you share the sense of outrage that they're doing this, this corruption based on corruption based on corruption. >>i think that's an understatement, eliot. u>> i'm not prone tot. understatement, so explain to me why that is. i think the mob learned from wall st., not vice versa.
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>> announcer: on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: 33 minutes after the hour. happy tuesday, september 25. the "full court press." so you having a hard time keeping up with all of these issues understanding them, all of the complexities of them, here's the answer. think progress. thinkprogress.org. they spell it all out. they put it all out there in a form we can all understand.
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and that's -- that's what keeps us going here at the "full court press." thanks to judd legum and his team over at the center for american progress and judd, the editor in chief of think progress here again, tuesdays with judd we call it. hey, judd, good to see you. >> good to see you. >> bill: your headline, top article this morning one i didn't have until just now you're reporting women earn less than men in 97% of congressional districts. i thought this was all taken care of with lilly ledbetter and all of that. >> lilly ledbetter helps a little bit. it certainly gives people more recourse if they think they've been discriminated against but there's still a big problem with wage inequality in the united states and with this -- what this study did, it took the number that some people may have heard which is women earn 77 cents on the dollar. >> bill: right. >> compared to men. and it looks at it by congressional district. basically finds that it's a
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problem in every congressional district. whether you're on the coast or you're in the heartland women are earning less than men for the same kind of work. >> bill: across the board. >> across the board. >> bill: this isn't just in right to work states or red states. >> it's everywhere. sexism obviously in the workplace is still a problem. it even found there's a couple of congressional districts in louisiana, kind of ranks them. from worst to best. a couple of the districts in louisiana, women are earning 60 cents for a man's dollar and so it really just shows how big of a problem this is. obviously president obama was the first -- the first bill he signed was the lilly ledbetter act. it does give women more recourse if they feel they've been discriminated against but this is a problem that we're just starting to kind of unpack and
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address. >> bill: could congress ever pass a law just saying that men and women should get equal pay for equal work? have they ever done that? >> there's been -- >> bill: it continues to be the case. >> there's been various efforts you know, i think the e.r.a. was something that's been tossed around from time to time. but it's difficult to solve the problem because there's a lot of people who will say well, it's just women are making different choices in their lives. they're having different kinds of work. this woman isn't doing quite the same job as this man so it's a difficult situation to address. >> bill: that's all sexist talk, let's face it. now, mitt romney -- we knew he was going to do it sooner or later, released one more year of tax returns. he chose to do so on friday.
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and his campaign, of course, says this puts the issue to rest. okay. does it? >> well, i don't think so. there's a lot of questions. >> bill: you guys are out there right away with ten questions romney still has to answer about his taxes. >> yeah. and i think that's right. and you know, one of the things that you look at is that when he estimated his taxes in -- way back during the primary, i think this was february or march before the april deadline, he filed an extension but he said here's my estimated taxes because you have to do that anyway.ú and that figure, he said that he made $7 million more -- >> bill: $20 million. >> yeah, than he reported. just the other day. so the question is -- it is a standard practice when you're estimating your taxes, you want to estimate on the high side because you don't want to do an underpayment of taxes then you
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would have penalties. so that's all standard but there's a difference between estimating on the high side and where did the $7 million go? and obviously if that was his true income, it makes you wonder what his actual -- what his actual rate was or certainly it bears some explanation as to what happened to it. >> bill: that's a good question. to be off -- even for a guy as wealthy as mitt romney to be off by $7 million raises eyebrows, i guess. but then also in 2011, mitt romney paid 14.1%. and the reason he paid 14.1% is because he did not declare all of his charitable deductions. had he done so, he would have paid about 10% so clearly they rigged this return to make sure he paid slightly more than he paid the year before which was 13.9%, right? >> yeah and what's interesting
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about that decision is that his -- mitt romney's tax plan would, for himself and other very wealthy people, create a much bigger reduction in the rate. 20% rate cut across the board and it would further reduce his taxes. so by forgoing the charitable deductions, you know, donating money to charity, you commend him for that. that's nothing to criticize him for but by forgoing these he's essentially saying look, under the current tax code, i don't think i'm paying enough so what i'm going to do is you know, decide not to take these deductions but then his policy is i'm actually going to lower the rate even further for myself for me and people like me so it really suggests why is your policy kind of out of line with this action you took to increase your rate? >> bill: isn't there another issue which is so what if he
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didn't declare them this year. he can file an amended return and declare them next year and get all of the money back, right? >> well, that seems to be what a lot of people are saying. there are people out there saying yeah, you can go back and -- >> bill: i've filed amended returns in the past. it's kind of a shell game it seems to me. that he's playing with his tax returns. >> yeah and also if you think that this rate is fair and it seems like he thinks 13% is fair -- >> bill: i said it is a fair rate. >> it is fair then why are you supporting a system that allows people clearly to go below it including himself and then reducing it even more? and i think it does raise questions about these 20 years of tax returns that he's put out. he hasn't put out the returns but the estimates for the 20 years. >> bill: a letter from his tax accountant. >> and it just shows well what's
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been going on with these 20 years? he says well, i've never paid below this rate. this was my average rate. i mean was this the average rate when he paid them or has there been a series of amendments filed. has there been any changes to these returns? because clearly he's not beyond you know, massaging them a bit. >> bill: absolutely. >> to increase the rate. >> bill: judd legum is our guest as he is every tuesday from -- editor in chief of think progress. a related story judd, we've been saving all of this good think progress stuff that came out in the last few days. headline on this one is corporations argument for skyrocketing ceo pay. so if women aren't getting -- are only getting 77 cents on the dollar but the ceos are making higher and higher and higher salaries and you point out that
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it's not necessarily producing better products or better business records right? >> and what happened is people looked into the essential excuse that ceos and the companies that paid them a lot of money make. look, we need to be competitive. >> bill: we have to get the best people and the only way is to pay them a gazillion dollars. >> exactly. there is a group of people who have other options. but what this study found is look, for ceos, it is a very specific skill. if you're ceo of intel you're not going to be able to turn around and become ceo of mcdonald's or some unrelated field and be successful. so while they're creating essentially this myth that ceos are interchangeable and a ceo who doesn't get paid enough money can just jump ship and go someplace else, what this study
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found was that's not true. that they're not going to be an attractive candidate to most other businesses because their skills are very specialized. so this idea that you have to compete against the other fortune 500 companies and provide a salary to prevent this ceo from getting employment and those companies just doesn't hold up. so that what you're left with is essentially ceos getting paid a lot of money and it is not matching up necessarily with their corporate performance and other metrics that stockholders and interested parties are interested. >> bill: correct. plus this gap this gap between what the ceo is paid and what your average worker is paid keeps getting wider and wider and wider and wider. there have been a lot of studies about that. i think it is up to about 200 300, 400% more.
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>> 200 300 400 times. >> bill: what the average worker in the plant. who's doing the work and producing the plant. it is the guy down here, not the guy at the very, very top. we're talking the issues of the day with think progress and judd legum. when we come back, mitt romney is now accusing president obama of wanting to force every american worker to join a union. any truth to this or is it another big lie? think progress is all over it. we'll be right back. >> announcer: radio meets television. the "bill press show." now on current tv. [ beads rattling ] unleashed. joy behar. >> on tonight's show, suzanne somers is going to bench press me and sue simmons. just watching the episode, you'll lose ten pounds.
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now to my point. (vo) jennifer granholm ... >>for every discouraged voter, there are ten angry ones taking action. trickle down does not work. in romney's world, cars get the elevator and the workers get the shaft. that is a whole bunch of bunk. the powerful may steal an election, but they can't steal democracy.
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>> announcer: this is the "full court press." >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: 13 minutes before the top of the hour. it is tuesday september 25. joe sir ins i don't know from the -- cirincione from the plowshares fund at the top of the next hour. right now judd legum is here for his tuesday regular tuesday visit from think progress and again, if you want to stay informed and up to date on all of the latest issues of the day no better site than -- noer is better source than thinkprogress.org. mitt romney, we don't have to worry about universal healthcare. we don't have to worry about obama care because mitt romney says we already take care of people who are uninsured right? if you don't have health
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insurance and you have a medical problem, easy answer. >> go to the e.r. apparently that's his latest answer. >> bill: didn't to the emergency room. who pays for it? right? >> this was what was kind of shocking about this answer, he's addressed this in the past and this was part of the whole rationale that he had for romney care which was look, people are going to the e.r. it's very expensive. you're having people who are free loading off of the system because they're not paying into it and they're getting emergency care. let's get everyone insured and have personal responsibility in that respect. >> bill: that was then. this is now on "60 minutes" sunday night. he told scott pelley well, we do provide care for people who don't have insurance. like if somebody has a heart attack. they don't sit in their apartment and die we pick them up in an ambulance and take them to the hospital and give them care. he's saying we should continue
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to pay for the freeloaders who don't have insurance. i shouldn't call them freeloaders. some people would like to buy it but they can't because of pre-existing conditions. he says emergency rooms are the answer for everybody. >> this is, of course, the whole reason for the mandate and the whole reason to get everyone covered whether it is through buying their private insurance or you put them on medicare with an expansion or you subsid size their private insurance that's the point of obama care is to prevent people from coming to an e.r. uninsured and essentially sticking the hospital with the cost. >> bill: it is strange that a guy who had it so right in massachusetts, has it so wrong today. i mean what did he do? have a mental wipeout? >> it is creating a problem for him, i think in his race because he really actually would have a -- you could argue a compelling message to the
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moderate centrist voter to say i was forward-looking on healthcare. here's what i did in massachusetts. we had a good idea. >> bill: i could work with members of the opposition. and get things done, da, da, da, da. >> he's running from a lot of it. >> bill: here's what's interesting me most. mitt romney is also saying, your headline, the latest myth. mitt romney's latest myth. obama wants to force workers into unions. oh, my god. he's going to force every american worker to join a union. >> not very hard from what we've seen. but what he's really referring to is card check that was the employee free choice act that we've heard about. really toward the beginning of the obama term. haven't heard about it much since. >> bill: which the president supports but didn't do anything about in the first four years. >> we certainly haven't seen it
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come into law. >> bill: i say that as a supporter of the employee free choice act and a critic of the president. but even if you had efka, it doesn't force workers to join a union. >> the idea is that an employer could fill out a card indicating their preference as to whether or not -- employee could fill out a card indicating their preference as to whether or not to join the union and that once enough cards were created -- were collected so that the majority of people wanted the union or even a supermajority, i think it is. then the union would be formed. as opposed to having a public meeting that can be subject to intimidation by the employer or other forces who are looking to prevent that where they are. >> bill: quickly you mentioned in the latest posting as well, higher unization rates
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increase mobility. in states where there are more unions, people have a better chance of moving up the ladder. >> it is roughly equivalent -- not equivalent but the same kind of effect as if you have 10% more unionization, it has a similar effect to having 10% more people graduating college. it is that same kind of impact on people's ability to move up the ladder. of course it makes sense because if you're getting paid a better wage, you can improve yourself and your condition. you have time to look for another job or to move up the latter. whereas if you're just trying to scrape by every month with very low wages don't have healthcare benefits, it is obviously very difficult to move up and up to a better position. >> bill: and you're more likely to get that better wage and better benefits, healthcare benefits et cetera if you're a member of a union. good message.
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good work as always. judd we better get through it but we're out of time. again. thanks so much for coming in. >> thanks, bill. >> bill: thanks for all of the great work at think progress. think progress.org. we'll see you again next week. >> yep. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." you disgust me. prove it. enough is enough. d-con baits are specially formulated to kill in one feeding. guaranteed. d-con. get out.
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it's go time. what time is it rob? oh, then it's go. go. go. go time.
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anybody? anybody? what time is it? oh, right. go time! [ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: hey, how about it. president obama, busy schedule today. >> announcer: radio meets television. the "bill press show." now on current tv. >> bill: okay. just so you know what's coming up joe cirincione from the ploughshares fund topping off the next hour to talk about president obama at the united nations. and at the clinton global
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initiative. what can we expect there? and then john stanton who is the washington bureau chief for buzzfeed buzzfeed.com will be in studio with us to talk politics. the last half hour of the show today. yes, president obama in new york city. he taped a session of "the view" yesterday on abc which will be seen today. the president then had a reception last night with world leaders at the waldorf astoria. he's accompanied by the first lady. this morning at 10:10 a.m., he will address the u.n. general assembly carried by the networks live. first lady will also be there. the president goes over to the sheraton new york hotel and towers on 8th avenue i believe it is. and at 12:10 this afternoon will be speaking to president clinton's clinton global initiative annual meeting. then the president coming back to washington, arriving back at
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the white house at 2:35 this afternoon. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."
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[ ♪ theme music ♪ ] hey hey. hello everybody. monday, june 12th. great to see you today. >> bill: hello, hello, hello and welcome to the "full court press." it is tuesday september 25. good to see you today. good to have you on board the "full court press" here on current tv. where we'll be talking about the big issues of the day. with some of our best friends joe cirincione and john stanton and taking your calls good friends indeed at 1-866-55-press.
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lots to talk about including the fact that president obama is up in new york city. arrived yesterday. for a meeting of the united nations but he didn't go directly to the united nations. instead, he went directly to the studios of abc and taped a session of "the view." while holding zero one on one meetings with foreign leaders. does he have his priorities straight or was that a big mistake? we'll knock that around a little bit. and a whole lot more here on the "full court press." but first today's latest, we start out with a current news update lisa ferguson standing by in los angeles. hi lisa, it's all yours. >> hey bill, good morning everyone. we're starting to hear a little bit more from mitt romney on taxes. more on his own tax returns from 2011 and more on his tax plan for the rest of america. but talking points memo is pointing out this morning the more details romney reveals about his tax plan, the more obvious it becomes that it is mathematically impossible.
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recently on "60 minutes," romney claimed that by cutting tax rates and closing loopholes tax burdens would stay the same for the rich and would go down for the middle class all without raising the deficit. while even conservative economists cannot make those numbers add up. martin feld stein of the national bureau for economic research finds romney's new tax rates would cost trillions of dollars. closing tax loopholes will not pay for that. he would need to get rid of middle class deductions which then effectively raises middle class rates. that study confirms a finding from the tax policy center earlier this year. another new study is finding women are making less than men in 97% of congressional districts. that comes from the national partnership for women and families and it means there are only 13 districts in this entire country where women and men are being paid equally. some of the nation's worst districts for women's pay come from louisiana and virginia where women are making just more
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than 60 cents for every dollar a man earns. more bill press coming up live after the break. stay with us. we have a big, big hour and the i.q. will go way up. how are you ever going to solve the problem if you don't look at all of the pieces? >>tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >>you're welcome current tv >>sharp tongue, quick whit and above all, politically direct. >>you just think there is no low they won't go to. oh, no. if al gore's watching today...
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[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: 42 days left and president obama looks good in the polls but mitt romney says he's still going to win it. the polls are close and it's gonna turn around. all right. that's what makes a good ball game. good morning, everybody. it is tuesday september 25. great to see you today. welcome to the "full court press." coming to you live all the way
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across this great land of ours. every nook and cranny, every town and hamlet on your local progressive talk radio station and on current tv. thanks so much for joining us. you want to sound off about the issues of the day now is your chance. get to the phone at 1-866-55-press. you will have to fight for airtime this hour however with joe cirincione from the ploughshares fund. he's here with a lot to say. good morning joe. >> good morning, bill. >> bill: good to see you again. we have the president at the united nations today. the world leaders assembled in new york. still some flare-ups in the middle east. lots to talk about. >> full plate. >> bill: that's why you're here. thank you for coming in. with our whole team back together again. peter ogborn. >> hey hey. >> bill: dan henning and cyprian bowlding who doesn't have a microphone. >> we're all here. >> bill: he just gets the wave. there is a lot to talk about on the world scene here in washington, d.c. on politics 2012.
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but what everybody is talking about today, uh-huh, is football and the amazingly dumb, stupid, wrong call last night by the rent a refs that the nfl owners have brought in to take the place of the good union refs in the nfl. >> i was asleep. what happened? >> oh! >> i hope you're not a packers fan. >> i am a packers fan. >> bill: the packers got robbed. what happened is seahawks are behind. packers are ahead. packers look like they're going to win. the seahawks have one last desperate attempt to -- >> hail mary pass. >> bill: quarterback throw, he throws it away. hail mary pass. goes into the end zone. it is clearly intercepted by green bay. >> game over. >> bill: no because the ref calls it for the seahawks. and there are two refs. >> it wasn't even like a pass
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interference. they called it a touchdown. >> bill: they called it a touchdown. there are two refs. two of these scab refs, right. one immediately says no good. no good. the other ref throws up his hands, touchdown. >> they're right next to each other. right in front of the play! right in front of the play! >> bill: and the -- they awarded it to the seahawks. of course, they won the game. here's what it sounded like. these are the packers announcers right. reporting what's going on. >> right here at the snap. to wilson. extends the play backpedals to the 40. looking, still waiting. he lets it go on the left side of the end zone. for a jump. and is it caught? in the end zone? touchdown. >> oh, you go the ta be kidding me. >> the call on the field stands. touchdown. >> that's unbelievable.
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[ cheering ] >> that is terrible. i didn't think something could be called worse than an interference. >> that is unbelievable. >> bill: there is one seahawks guy there and there are like five packers guys. the packers guy has the ball in his hands falls and holds on to the ball. clearly controlling the ball. no doubt about it, right? >> oh, yeah, absolutely. pulls it in. and then golden tate grabs it from him. >> bill: it shows when your nonunion scab referees, they don't know the job. >> we have to get the refs back. >> bill: nfl owners are destroying major league football. >> one of the packers players tweeted just -- in a fury toward the refs and said the nfl's going to fine me. i welcome the fine. take that money and pay some real refs. >> for a couple of bucks.
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>> bill: they're not demanding a whole big salary. they're just destroying the game. that's the big news of the day. we're pissed off about it. i stand in solidarity with my union brothers and sisters. or union brothers, i guess. >> demonstrations at stadiums around the country. >> bill: exactly. we think the players ought to say we aren't going to play anymore until you give us some real refs. that would change the rules here. that would make a difference. so joe cirincione, packers fan is here with us. and then john stanton from "buzzfeed" will be joining us later. but first -- >> this is the "full court press." >> other headlines making news, big changes coming to sesame street gentlemen. this isate shattering. as the show debuted its 43rd season on pbs this week, the way they present elmo has changed. elmo's world is gone. that was the name of the segment now called elmo the musical. the red character will incorporate much more music into his skits as he's now
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introducing more concept in science, technology, engineering and math. really good for the preschool demo. the new skits are longer and they're geared toward older preschool age children whereas before, he was just talking to kids up to 2 years old. he's doing 2 3 4-year-olds. >> bill: this is bad news. you start messing with elmo, man. >> he's extending his reach. he's doing dinner theatre now. >> no, no. >> bill: if it ain't broke don't fix it. >> i'm on to keep elmo. >> we thought that arnold schwarzenegger's affair was all but forgotten but it is back in the spotlight. the actor and former governor's new memoir called total recall is in stores next week. [ laughter ] >> is that what it's called? [ laughter ] >> wonderful. >> goes into full detail about getting together with his housekeeper and fathering a child with her in the mid '90s then getting confronted about it, he tells the story about the
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night and maria shriver in a counseling session confronted him about it. he still hopes for reconciliation but understands that will take awhile. >> bill: what a pig. >> the iphone 5 is incredibly popular. sales of the new iphone topped five million units over the weekend. >> bill: i did my share. >> sales of the iphone 4 by over a million when it came out last year in the same time period. initial shipment of phones sold out across the country but ceo assures everyone that more are on the way to stores. >> i have phone envy. my clunky old iphone. i used to think it was beautiful until i saw yours. >> bill: come on! i've had mine for four days already. >> almost the identical alternative. >> yeah, really. >> bill: okay. dan, thank you very much. so joe cirincione, at the white house briefing yesterday reporters were making a big deal of the fact that president obama went to the united nations yesterday -- no, he went to new york yesterday.
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before he went to the u.n., he went to abc and taped a session of "the view." he went to the waldorf astoria. today he's speaking to the general assembly then coming back to the white house. last year at the u.n., he held 13 bilateral meetings with world leaders, one on one. this year he's holding zero. big mistake? >> campaign. the at this difference is campaign. he has alternatives. to meet with the world leaders which gets him exactly zero electoral votes or go back to ohio. >> there aren't a lot of votes in kyrgyzstan but they don't vote. that explains this. it is not about fleeing from world troubles or shunning world leaders. it is about the demands of a very, very close election. >> bill: why isn't he meeting
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with benjamin netanyahu? >> because he's not meeting with any world leaders so to single one out would be an insult to the ones that he's not meeting with. >> bill: but there is a chain reaction here. a domino reaction. if you meet with him, you have to meet with abbas or you have to meet with morsi. >> what's wrong with the europeans? what are we? chopped liver? it is either some, 10, 12, or none. that was the president's choice. >> bill: it should also be pointed out as jay carney did yesterday that one good reason for not meeting with prime minister netanyahu is because he's not there. >> that's another good reason. >> bill: he's not in new york because of yom kippur. he does not arrive until late wednesday after they break the fast, i believe. >> it doesn't stop his political opponents from attacking the
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president for spurning him or stiffing him or standing him up. various charges that have been hurled on the campaign trail none of which are true. >> bill: the other criticism was heard yesterday that his interview in "60 minutes," the president talked about recent problems in the middle east. that he thinks things are going in the right direction. but there have been problems which he referred to as bumps in the road. mitt romney jumped on that yesterday. peter, here is that mitt romney -- at any rate, interview yesterday. >> i can't imagine saying something like an assassination of an ambassador is a bump in the road. look at the entire context the assassination, the muslim brotherhood president being elected in egypt. 20,000 people killed in syria. iran close to becoming a nuclear nation. these are far from being butches in the road. >> let me tell you. i gotta agree with romney there. very unfortunate expression on the part of the president.
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he did seem to belittle the situation. i'm sure unintentionally. nonetheless, he said it. a more appropriate phrase would have been there are going to be serious setbacks. this is a tumultuous time. >> bill: bumps in the road is a common expression. he was not saying so what, we lost an ambassador, big deal. just the opposite. >> he was explaining is that this is a region of almost 800 million people going through what may be the most dramatic tumultuous transition in millennia. there are going to be ups and downs, we're going to go forward, we're going to step back. there will be catastrophes. have a steady hand. know what the policy is. know what your long-range interests are. things will turn out. >> bill: should we be concerned over the fact that two countries where it seemed that we had turned the corner from dictatorship to democracy, libya
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and egypt, we've had -- anti-american demonstrations in both resulting in the murder of our ambassador in libya. >> yes, concern but not panic. nothing that's happened should cause us to reconsider our basic policy which by the way is a bipartisan policy. support the governments, provide aid to these governments. stay with the governments. even though in egypt we have someone who is a member of the muslim brotherhood. romney criticized that. that represents a good majority of the population. >> bill: he was elected. >> actually, he's doing a terrific job. and so you had a couple of bad weeks and what you see now and this is a headline in "the washington post" editorial page this morning you're seeing a pro american pushback. you're seeing major demonstrations in libya. against the militias. you're seeing unarmed people come in and take over the militia headquarters, strip them. you see the government start to stand up and order all militias
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to ban the property. in egypt you're seeing clerics denounce the demonstrations that took place outside the cairo embassy issuing -- saying this is not how we protest. we can protect the honor of the prophet mohammed but not in this way. you're seeing something good come out of this couple of weeks of tumult. >> bill: i saw the report on cbs news last night in benghazi the populous, right unarmed populous actually took over the militia headquarters and threw them out of benghazi. >> including the militia that is believed to be linked to the murder of our ambassador. >> bill: right. which is certainly a good sign, right? >> yeah. >> bill: the other challenge i guess facing the president joe in new york is that he follows -- the general assemblies with his speech today, he follows the fiery
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remarks of ahmadinejad yesterday. what do we do about him? do we sort of ignore him? does the president have to respond? >> you wait. he will be out of office in a few months. >> bill: he will. >> there are elections in iran next -- i think it is march and there will be a new president. ahmadinejad is much diminished. people thought -- >> bill: tell me about this to start with. >> people thought he was the dictator of iran. they were comparing him to hitler. that's not true. the president actually does not have that much power. the supreme leader, the ayatollah homaney includes the reign including foreign policy. ahmadinejad is provoc at this. he says wild things but he doesn't actually determine the policy of the government and there is a big rift between ahmadinejad and the cleric and he's basically holding on for these last few months, he will be gone completely in march. >> bill: is there an election? >> there's an election.
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iran is a quasi-democracy. they have more or less fair elections. limited by people who can and can't run. >> bill: but the clerics indicate whom they want to be the next president? >> not necessarily. i mean they did not pick ahmadinejad. that was a bit of a surprise. they certainly didn't pick the reformist president who preceded ahmadinejad. so neither one of those was expected to win and did win. so there are surprises. it is a quasi-democracy. elections under restraints -- constraints. >> bill: as we've learned in other countries right when you bring about successful and bringing about democratic reforms, you don't always get the results in a free election that you might want. >> no. not at all. >> bill: that's part of the democratic system, right? >> read america history. some chaos for years in this country while we had free elections. >> bill: talking u.n. and the middle east with joe cirincione
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from the ploughshares fund. we'll be right back here on the "full court press." you're welcome to join the conversation at any time right now at 1-866-55-press. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >>and now to my point. that is a whole bunch of bunk! the powerful my steal an election but they cannot steal democracy.
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